On Saturday the Egyptian House of Representatives published the results of elections held within its specialised internal committees to select committee heads.
Members of Parliament assigned to the respective committees voted 14 Coalition in Support of Egypt members to committee heads. The coalition thus has control of 14 of the announced 18 specialised internal committees, solidifying its control of the parliament.
Several MPs voiced criticism of the voting processing, contending Coalition in Support of Egypt committee members voted to extend the group’s control over parliament rather than voting for the most competent candidate.
MP Osama Sharshar reportedly resigned the Coalition in Support of Egypt ahead of the voting process in protest of party-line voting. He criticised the Coalition in Support of Egypt for aiming to expand its personal interests and not basing the voting process on competency.
In an official statement issued on Saturday, the Al-Wafd Party slammed recent statements from the Coalition in Support of Egypt wherein the coalition attempted to normalise informal coordination between parties to broker committee head positions.
The Al-Wafd Party contended coordination should address crucial issues and challenges facing Egypt rather than manoeuvring to seize positions of power within the parliament.
The Al-Wafd Party stated it had not coordinated with the coalition and would not seek support from it in the future.
“If it weren’t for the sensitivity of the current phase, we would have taken a further action,” the statement concluded.
A committee, headed by MP Bahaa El-Din Abou Shoka, tasked with drafting internal regulations of the Parliament suggested increasing the number of internal committees from 19 to 28, according to a report published on the parliament’s official website on 14 February.
To expand the regulatory purview of the parliament, the new committees that were added include those that focus on African countries’ affairs, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), higher education, scientific research, and media.
Parliamentary Speaker Abdel Aal said the voting took place according to Article 42 of the internal# charter of the parliament, which states: “The voting process will be held under the supervision of the eldest member in each committee.” However, the eldest member can only serve this role if he or she is not a candidate for the committee head position.
In the event that only one member has been nominated for the committee head position, the candidate is appointed without a vote. Further, if all members of a specialised internal committee, including the eldest, are running for the position, the parliamentary speaker will nominate two MPs to supervise the voting process after all other committee elections are completed.
The results of vote to election specialised internal committee heads are the following:
Coalition in Support of Egypt
MP Saeed Taema, head of the Transportation Committee
MP Mohamed Al-Swedy, head of the Industry Committee
MP Sahar Tala’at Mostafa, head of the Tourism and Civil Aviation Committee
MP Abdelhady Al-Qasby, head of the Social Solidarity Committee
MP Saad Al-Gamma, head of the Arab Countries’ Affairs Committee
MP Farag Amer, head of the Youth and Sport Committee
MP Hassan Eissa, head of the Planning and Budget Committee
MP Hammam Al-Adly, head of the Suggestions and Complaints Committee
MP Al-Gebaly Al-Maraghy, head of the Manpower Committee
MP Kamal Amer, head of the Defence and National Security Committee
MP Bahaa Abu Shokka, head of the Legislative and Constitutional Committee
MP Osama Heikal, head of the Information and Culture Committee
Hisham Al-Sheany announced as a member of the Agriculture Committee
MP Moataz Mohamed Mahmoud, head of the Housing Committee
Free Egyptians Party
MP Saaeed Teaima, head of the Transportation Committee
Independent
MP Ali Moselhy, head of the Economic Committee
MP Mohamed Anwar Sadat, head of Human Rights Committee
